X for a difference

The only problem is, I knew in my heart of hearts I wasn’t voting for a party, but a person. And it was at that point where I almost turned around and ran.

File image

So yet another general election has come and gone. Each time we look forward to it like a kid at Christmas. And year after year we are disappointed.

Granted, we don’t have to write the long, drawn out letter – we just go to a community meeting, rattle off our “mandate” and Bob’s your uncle.

If only it was so easy.

This little scenario reminds me of a Gordon Ramsey show I happened to watch the other day. I just put the TV on and it was the start of the programme. I can’t remember what it was called. I think it was the F-word or something like that. Anyway, what I could gather was that it was different families competing against each other. Mr Ramsey went around asking each family a couple of questions. But, seriously I was screaming at the TV, “Please, Gordon, show some sort of enthusiasm – even if you have to compete with Lady Gaga to win an Oscar. Just give something anything ”

But noooo. The man was obviously thinking about his next expletive rhyme in his head.

I guess that’s what some of our politicians do at community meetings and rallies too. I’ve seen quite a couple of well-known politicians taking a power nap at rallies regardless of the booming noise all round with the crowd clapping and waiting for a Melissa McCarthy Boss Lady to descend out of the sky on a golden throne. Or an Ellen Degeneres to come dancing down the aisle, grabbing two audience members to compete against each other for a chance to mark out their erf or win some electricity.

This is reality folks. There is no Father Christmas. There is no “Boss Lady”. There is no Ellen Degeneres. It’s always going to be just us us against them.

Yet every time we go to the polls we do wish for some or other miracle. I don’t know why we put ourselves through it. Not everybody is stupid. We have all been born with that little gene which helps us distinguish between right and wrong. Yet we tend to forget about that when we get given a T-Shirt, a food parcel and maybe, just maybe, a selfie with the leader of the party.

When you go to the polls to make your mark and are given those two ballot papers, you see a whole bunch of logos and you choose which party you want to “represent” you.

You don’t per se get the choice of person you want.

Before I trample on anyone’s toes here, you get sort of a chance at branch level and then it is supposed to filter up to the top. But sometimes the choices you have at this level leaves a lot to be desired. You just get told, “This is who you have, deal with it.”

In 2014 I didn’t go and vote. This time around I thought, “Let me just go and do it.”

I have to say once I was standing in that polling booth, I just didn’t know what to do. You vote for the party which you have supported since the year of the rinderpest – but which has screwed up time after time, or do I go with the party which might bring a little bit of change in the country.

The only problem is, I knew in my heart of hearts I wasn’t voting for a party, but a person. And it was at that point where I almost turned around and ran.

The representative of the party I was voting for just didn’t do it for me. But, I had come this far, I couldn’t turn around now. I made my X.

Now I just hope that that person can muster up the courage to be a man and really make a difference in this country and just outside my front door.

I don’t think the general election is anything like the excitement Christmas holds, I just hope we all made the right mark.